Many spinning, hand-launched, flying toys have been disclosed in the prior art. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following United States and foreign patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. Inventor(s)/COUNTRY Issue Date ______________________________________ Des. 84,029 J. C. Ditlevsen Apr. 28, 1931 913,381 P. S. Hay Feb. 23, 1909 1,110,738 J. Berecz Sept. 15, 1914 4,183,168 R. E. Ross Jan. 15, 1980 4,309,038 D. M. Spoon Jan. 5, 1982 4,904,219 G. M. Cox Feb. 27, 1990 5,173,069 M. A. Litos, et al. Dec. 22, 1992 5,284,454 G. B. Randolph Feb. 8, 1994 793,980 FRANCE Feb. 5, 1936 1,021,256 FRANCE Feb. 17, 1953 2,093,710A UNITED KINGDOM Sept. 8, 1982 WO 90/09829 PCT Sept. 7, 1990 ______________________________________
Of these patents, U.S. Pat. No. 1,110,738, issued to Berecz on Sep. 15, 1914, discloses a flying and spinning toy in the manner of a spinning top with an aerial propeller whereby the top first spins in a flying movement through the air and continues to spin on the ground upon landing.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 84,029, issued to J. C. Ditlevsen on Apr. 28, 1931, discloses the ornamental design for a flying top.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,168, issued to Roger E. Ross on Jan. 15, 1980, discloses a flying disk toy having a crank for providing rotational acceleration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,038, issued to Donald M. Spoon on Jan. 5, 1982, discloses a throw toy having spoke-like graspable members which extend from a central hub.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,219, issued to Glenn M. Cox on Feb. 27, 1990, discloses an autorotating hand flyer that is of a specific one piece construction. Cox's hand flyer has a tapered wing and a substantially pointed front end and an arcuate cut out on the root at the trailing edge of the flyer. Both the leading and trailing edge of Cox's flyer are substantially convex. Further, Cox's flyer has a pointed tail.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,069, issued to Mark A. Litos on Dec. 22, 1992, also discloses an autorotative flyer having a concave leading edge and a convex trailing edge which is provided with specifically configured scallops. Litos's wing, wing spar and root are integrally formed. Moreover, Litos teaches a specific tapering of the wing from leading to trailing edge. Further, Litos teaches that the thickness and rearward extension of the spar diminishes from the root to the wing tip. This specific tapering of both the wing and the spar results in increased manufacturing costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,454, issued to George B. Randolph on Feb. 8, 1994, discloses a toy helicopter which is capable of a projected nose up ascent and a helicopter nose down descent.
U.S. Pat. No. 913,381 issued to P.S. May on Feb. 23, 1909 discloses a toy having a rigid spine, a weight disposed at one end of the spine, and a membrane folded over and enclosing the spine. The toy is further provided with a plurality of branches extending from the spine.
Each of the foreign patents disclose further embodiments of auto-rotating flyers. Those disclosed in the French Patent ('980) and the PCT application ('829) are each provided with a wing member having a hollow, plastic sphere, disc, or box. In each embodiment disclosed in these patents, the sphere, disc, or box is fabricated from two cooperating halves which are secured to the wing. However, due to the fabrication of the individual halves, the sphere, disc or box is incapable of absorbing impact shock or for assisting in the stability of flight.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an autorotating flyer toy that has a wing configuration that closely simulates the wing configuration of the autorotating maple seed.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an autorotating flyer that has a spherical nose.
Still another object of the present invention is to an autorotating flyer that has a spherical nose that is lightweight, yet has a shock absorbing capability to prevent damage or deformation of the nose upon impact.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a novel game of toss to be played with the maple-seed simulating autorotating flyer.
Other objects and advantages over the prior art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description together with the drawings as described as follows.